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Remaining employees may be suffering from "foxhole syndrome."

Given Yahoo’s death spiral over the past five or six years, the announcement today that the company would lay off 2,000 people, or one out of seven of its 14,000 employees, was not a surprise. But the fact that the news came with only the vaguest comment from senior management about the company’s strategic plan, means that the remaining employees will be ducking for cover and either looking for new jobs or focusing on day-to-day survival. The layoffs are expected to reach across the company’s many departments, including marketing and the products group, which builds mobile apps and new websites.

“Our goal is to get back to our core purpose — putting our users and advertisers first — and we are moving aggressively to achieve that goal,” said CEO Scott Thompson in a written statement. “With a clear focus on profitability and growth, the company will be disciplined in its investments and radically simplify how it builds, launches and maintains many of its properties and products.” The layoffs come three months after Thompson, former CEO of eBay’s PayPal unit, took over as CEO. The previous CEO, Carol Bartz, was forced out in September.

Yahoo watchers expect Thompson to elaborate on his leadership strategy at the company’s first-quarter earnings announcement April 17. But if his statement today offers any hint, it appears Thompson doesn’t have much of a plan aside from cost-cutting. Today he said the layoffs would save the company $375 million a year. Thompson is likely to focus efforts on Yahoo’s online advertising business, which brings in about $3 billion a year but faces steep competition from rivals. Thompson is also expected to announce investments in new commerce-related projects. Though Yahoo’s websites are still popular, most of the company’s $20 billion market capitalization comes from its minority stakes in Asian Internet companies Yahoo Japan and Alibaba in China.

Adam Hartung, a Forbes contributor and corporate innovation consultant based in Chicago whose clients include Deutsche Telekom and Swiss Bank, says that absent a bold statement from Thompson, the remaining Yahoo employees are destined to suffer from what Hartung calls the “foxhole syndrome.” They will either hunker down or come out only to get a new job. “The fact that you’re laying all these people off is an absolute, abject statement that you’ve failed,” says Hartung. “You’ve got to now say, ‘I’ve got something for the rest of you to do.’” Because the layoffs have been rumored for a long time, Hartung says that the remaining employees are likely those who have had a tough time finding another job, because of age, a health condition or difficulty transferring retirement savings.

Author and employee engagement consultant Adrian Gostick suggests that while it sounds counter-intuitive, Yahoo should hold what Gostick calls “celebration events” to mark the departure of laid off employees. “They should gather people together and thank them publicly for all their hard work and everything they’ve contributed,” says Gostick. Former employees will likely work for competitors, and fostering good will is a better strategy than alienating people. Treating departing employees well can also bolster morale among remaining workers, who will then be more motivated to work hard and come up with ideas. Gostick says Thompson should recognize remaining, valued employees and hold town hall meetings that encourage workers to contribute ideas. Since Thompson is still new to the company, points out Gostick, he needs to be listening to ideas from longtime employees.

Gostick also recommends that Thompson be “brutally honest” to remaining employees about why the layoffs were necessary, and to be transparent about planning. There is power in an apology as well, adds Gostick. Thompson should say he’s sorry about the layoffs. “He has to humanize it,” says Gostick.

However Thompson handles the layoffs, Hartung says that without a plan for exploiting a new market, Yahoo’s days are numbered. “If there is truly no plan,” says Hartung, “then there will probably be no Yahoo within 24 months.”